Hearst generosity benefited Lead

 By G. Sam Carr

            Phoebe Apperson Hearst, wife of Homestake Mining Company founder George Hearst and mother of William Randolph Hearst, spent very little time in the Black Hills. But her benevolence improved the quality of life for several generations of Lead residents.

A true philanthropist, Phoebe’s views on the treatment of labor and her social theories were far advanced for her era. She believed corporate money should be used for the good of mankind and that Homestake’s gold should benefit those who mined it as well as those who owned the stock.

            Phoebe was born December 3, 1842, on a farm in Franklin County, Missouri, to parents who were neither rich nor poor. They taught her three unbendable rules for life: Be on time, have good manners and respect older people. 

            Phoebe’s early life was one of plain honest habits without benefit of finer comforts. Books played an important role. From a one-room schoolhouse she went to a seminary operated by Cumberland Presbyterian Church for one year. With that rudimentary education she became a teacher, first of farm children, and then at the Meramec Iron Works where she taught children of factory workers. She was one of the most popular teachers at the Iron Works. In 1861 she became a tutor and governess in the home of a mining friend of George Hearst.

            That same year, George Hearst went back to Missouri to visit his ailing mother.  While there he began courting Phoebe Apperson, daughter of a woman he once had called on. Phoebe was a pigtailed child George had often carried on his shoulder before he left for California. At the age of 18 she was a petite, charming young lady with enormous blue gray eyes and a sense of humor.

Phoebe’s parents were astounded that a man of Hearst’s age would call on their young daughter. They wanted the best for their only girl, but a man twice her age, even if he did have money, was worrisome.

            Despite the age difference they got along well. George was given to long silences, but just to be in his strong presence was enough for Phoebe. She often expressed her feelings for him in poems.

            On June 15, 1862, George and Phoebe were married by W. P. Renick, a Presbyterian minister. Phoebe wore a simple homemade dress. No members of the Hearst or Apperson families were present; no photographs were taken.

On April 29, 1863, she gave birth to their only child, William Randolph Hearst, named for his paternal and maternal grandfathers, William Hearst and Randolph Apperson.

Although Phoebe was frugal, she had expensive tastes. She mended and remade dresses, but also loved the new gowns George gave her at Christmas. She had a big heart and took in many young women whom she protected, educated, and launched into society.

During those early years she developed the genesis that became a personal kind of philanthropy. From modest beginnings, it grew into a lifetime theme of enabling people to help themselves.

            George Hearst died on February 28, 1891. As his sole heir, Phoebe assumed control of his accumulated wealth, including the Homestake Mining Company. To assist her in overseeing the Homestake and make sure her philosophies were carried out, she recruited and trained a cousin, Edward H. Clark. Clark became a director in 1894. From 1914 to 1944 he served as president of the Homestake Mining Company, never forgetting his role as protector of the Hearst interests.

Phoebe’s primary concern was the welfare of towns George Hearst created in his mining ventures, including Lead. She incorporated the brick company store as Hearst Mercantile Company. The biggest department store in South Dakota, Hearst Mercantile burned on August 31, 1942.

In 1894, as a Christmas gift for the people of Lead, Phoebe founded a free library, installed in the Miners Union Opera House. Two years later, it was moved to the Hearst Mercantile Company on North Mill Street, to a room expressly fitted for holding the library’s 8,000 volumes and public documents. The library was maintained at Phoebe’s personal expense until her death. Her estate provided funds until 1925 when the estate donated all the books, art objects and equipment to Homestake Mining Company. Homestake decided to continue the library.

In 1900 the Lead’s Woman’s Club proposed the idea of a kindergarten for four and five-year-old children. Kindergartens were one of the projects Phoebe dearly loved; she had established several in other areas of the United States. When asked, she agreed to endow and support the Hearst Free Kindergarten set up on the ground floor of the Christ Episcopal Church on Main Street. There was no doubt Phoebe loved children and wanted to assure that anyone wanting an education could have it.

On May 27, 1901, Phoebe came to Lead to dedicate the kindergarten and finalize her plans for the pre-school project. Homestake Mine Superintendent Thomas J. Grier and his wife hosted a reception in her honor and she returned to San Francisco well pleased with the community. 

On October 21, 1911, President William H. Taft visited the Homestake Mine and made a speech on the kindergarten grounds. The Hearst Free Kindergarten became part of the Lead public school system in 1934.  

In addition to maintaining the free kindergarten and library, Mrs. Hearst made a $200 annual donation to every Lead church organization.

In 1910, with total backing from Phoebe and her protégé Edward H. Clark, Superintendent Grier made the Homestake Hospital free of charge for all employees and direct dependants. Free medical benefits included doctor’s visits and prescription drugs.

Superintendent Grier and Phoebe Hearst shared beliefs that “money should be used for the good of mankind” and that people needed fun and entertainment as well as basic needs of food and shelter. With her full support, Grier planned a recreational facility for the town.

The Homestake Opera House and Recreation Building, a gift from Homestake to the people of Lead, opened on August 31, 1914. The structure contained an opera house, bowling alley, swimming pool, library, social rooms, billiards and pool tables, all free to the public except for the opera house.

Another project dear to the heart of Phoebe, a pension plan for Homestake employees, was approved in April 1917.

Lead residents were not the only recipients of Phoebe’s generosity. She gave money to all kinds of charities, many of which she started herself. The PTA was her idea; she founded it and supported it until it grew on its own. Countless young people all over the country were educated through her scholarships. She donated enormous sums of money to the University of California at Berkeley for buildings, scholarships and women’s causes. Before medical schools would enroll them, Mrs. Hearst recommended women study as doctors. She started the Homeopathic Institute for Women and funded it until medical school enrollment was opened to women.

Phoebe became interested in anthropology and funded expeditions to Egypt, Europe and England. When money ran out she continued to pay salaries so the work could continue. Priceless artifacts from those expeditions are displayed in the museum at the University of Berkeley.

Phoebe Apperson Hearst died April 13, 1919, leaving a legacy that will remain in Lead as long as the town exists. She was a woman ahead of her time, a liberal woman who could relate to women’s causes of today. She studied and was personally involved in all the causes she espoused, contributing money, time and interest in the fields of science, industry, scholarships, woman’s rights, children’s needs, and labor.

Phoebe Hearst’s name is still prominent in Lead 84 years after her death; Highway 385 south from Pluma is named in her honor. On July 7, 2000, the American Library Association named Phoebe Apperson Hearst and the Homestake Mining Company to the National Advocacy Honor Roll for their financial support of Lead’s public library.                                                                                                              DM                                                     

Author’s note:  Primary research publications for this article were Mildred Fielder’s book, THE TREASURE OF HOMESTAKE GOLD, (North Plains Press, Aberdeen, SD – 1970) and an article by Dorothy Polley Ringsrud published in the book, SOME HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY.